


Happy New Year

by LtTanyaBoone



Category: NCIS
Genre: Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-01
Updated: 2013-01-01
Packaged: 2017-11-23 07:00:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/619357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LtTanyaBoone/pseuds/LtTanyaBoone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>McGee and Ziva spend a few quiet moments together on  New Year's Eve.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Happy New Year

**Disclaimers:** NCIS, the rights to the show and its characters do not belong to me. No money was made by this.  
 **Spoilers:** S10  
 **Pairing:** Tim McGee & Ziva David friendship

* * *

 

Tim shrugged into his jacket and grabbed his keys, straightening. He eyed the half-empty glass of champagne sitting on his desk, but just as he reached out to empty it, he saw Ziva sneak into the bullpen. Unlike him, she made no move to get her coat, instead sinking back into her chair and drawing a slow breath.

McGee furrowed his brows and slowly walked over to her, hoping that he wouldn’t accidentally spook her. Which struck him as a strange thought, after all Ziva wasn’t one to usually be spooked, but right now, her thoughts seemed to be miles away and he wasn’t sure if she’d seen him standing there when she’s slipped in.

“You’re gonna come downstairs?” he asked her, and sure enough, the Israeli jumped lightly in her chair before she turned to look at him.

“What?”

“Downstairs. The fireworks. Are you going to come and watch them?” Tim asked her, watching as she slowly shook her head no.

“No. No, I’m… not too fond of them.” Ziva responded, trying a soft smile. “But you should go. The others are probably wondering where you disappeared to.” she said, but Tim just shrugged.

“If they notice, they’re gonna wonder where you are, too.” he pointed out as he tilted his head. “Plus I think Abby and Tony are past the point of realizing things like this, and Gibbs probably has his hands full with the two of them. Palmer and Breena only have eyes for each other.” he added, remembering the way the two hadn’t been able to stop kissing after the countdown had been over and everyone was clinking glasses and toasting to 2013.

A soft smile stole across Ziva’s face at the memory of Jimmy and his wife. It was their first New Year’s Eve as husband and wife, and she’d been a bit surprised that the two had shown up at the office party, but then Breena had explained that it had been the only way to escape her parents and spend New Year’s not trying to dodge questions about the possibility of grandchildren.

“Well, Ducky-” she started to offer more protest, but Tim merely set down his glass at her table and went to get his desk chair, taking off his jacket on the way. When he sat down in front of her desk, he didn’t miss the grateful smile that Ziva gave him, and he returned it readily. He’d wanted to talk to her all evening, but somehow, she’d always managed to escape just when they were alone, or someone else had come to pull either one of them away. If he didn’t know better, he’d have thought she was avoiding him. But that couldn’t be. She was Ziva, she was direct and they were friends. If he had done something wrong and she was mad at him, he’d know about it because she would have told him. That’s how they worked, how their friendship worked. They were honest with each other.

And that honesty also meant he had confronted her when she had skipped her first Fourth of July as a American citizen with some lame excuse of having had too little sleep the night before so she wouldn’t have been up for a picnic anyway. It meant that he was probably the only one on the team – besides Gibbs – that knew of her aversion to fireworks, though even he tended to forget about it. He had never seen her around them, never witnessed her immediate reaction to what most people saw as some harmless fun to celebrate. It wasn’t that Ziva didn’t think that they could be pretty, it was just that the sounds of them going off tended to remind her of similar sounds that weren’t linked to pleasant memories. To be honest, with how closely they all dealt with the military, Tim was surprised that he hadn’t been able to figure it out on his own, or that any of the team had noticed before how Ziva tended to disappear on these New Year’s Eve parties when it came to watching the festive firework display outside.

“So, any plans or resolutions for the new year?” he asked her, kicking back his legs. Ziva shook her head in amusements before she grew pensive.

“Not really.” she admitted, furrowing her brows. “They always strike me sort of… hypocritical?” she offered at his surprised look.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if people wanted to actually change something, why wait until the numbers of the year change to make that commitment?” Ziva asked, shaking her head. “No, I don’t have any resolutions. Plus I think 2012 was exciting enough. Maybe this one will be… less hectic. Less surprising…” she trailed off and Tim watched her unconsciously touch the naked skin of her ring finger. He swallowed thickly, wondering how to draw her focus away from another failed relationship, but Ziva gave a minute shake of her head before he could say anything, pulling herself out of her thoughts.

“What about you?” she asked him, raising an eyebrow. “Any big plans?”

Tim shrugged, taking his glass and emptying it as he thought about that.

“Not really.” he finally answered. “I had a few over the last few years, but you might be right. I don’t get too far with them, these resolutions, I mean. Except with the weight loss one.” he pointed out. “Thanks again, by the way. I wouldn’t have stuck to my workout if you hadn’t poked me into going running with you.”

A smile lit up his colleague’s face.

“It was my pleasure.” Ziva inclined her head. “I enjoyed it and picking new routes to gradually match your abilities…” she trailed off, watching him. “I wanted to, thank you.” she slowly said, swallowing thickly. “For being such a great friend this past year. I know it’s not always been easy, but I really appreciate it. I like knowing that I can come to you, and that you will tell me if I’m wrong about something. I don’t, have to worry, with you. About protecting my image.”

Tim nodded.

“My pleasure. I like being your friend, Ziva. But I’m sure the others-”

His friend shook her head.

“No. No they… have you ever looked at something through a prism?” she suddenly asked him, and Tim furrowed his brows in confusion. “It’s like, you always see certain aspects, but you never get the whole picture. When you shift to see the rest, other parts vanish, and I think that’s how they see me. Tony sees… I have no idea what, honestly. And for Abby, I am this strong, almost emotionless robot, who can do anything she wants. And Gibbs, he wants to protect me but if it helps the case, he will push me, perhaps past my limits. And Ducky, well, I don’t think he ever really admitted to himself what I am really capable off, in terms of my training. But you, McGee… I think you’re the only one who has seen all these sides of me, and accepted all of them. I don’t have to pretend with you, and that’s a relief.”

McGee swallowed thickly, reaching out to squeeze her hand. Ziva turned hers and returned the pressure. He had just opened his mouth to say something when Tony appeared, staggering to his desk and halting when he saw the two of them. The senior field agent shook his head in an attempt to clear the cobwebs one glass of champagne too many had caused.

“How’d you get here so fast?” he asked them, his words slurring slightly.

“Ninja powers.” Ziva smirked at him, gently pulling her hand out of Tim’s as she stood, narrowing her eyes at him. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Looking for keys.” Tony told her, scrunching up his face as he opened the top drawer of his desk and started rummaging through it. Ziva walked around her desk, grabbing his keys before he could close his fingers around them. “Hey!”

“If you think you are driving like this…” she trailed off, her voice holding a warning edge.

“You’re no drivin’ me, either.” Tony attempted to point at her but only ended up staring at his fingertip with sudden fascination. The Israeli rolled her eyes before she turned around and tossed DiNozzo’s keys to Tim, who caught them in slight surprise.

“You’re still good to drive, right?” she asked him and Tim nodded, getting out of his chair with a sigh.

“Yeah. It’s just not the way I was thinking of spending the first hour of the new year.” he told her as he grabbed Tony’s shoulders and steered him around his desk.

“It’s already 1.15 am.” Ziva pointed out, grabbing her jacket and putting it on as she followed them. “And I better make sure that Abby does not get the same idea as him.” she told McGee when she got into the elevator with the two men.

“Happy New Year!” Tony exclaimed as the metal doors closed, making the other two NCIS agents roll their eyes in exasperation.

fin. 


End file.
